Judge raps eBay over fraud

ebay has been criticized by a U.K. judge for not doing enough to protect its users from the dangers of fraud.

Judge Richard Bray said it was "hardly surprising" that eBay was targeted by criminals, given the measures it has put in place to protect users. Bray suggested that letting customers register negative feedback about other users wasn't enough.

"Provided you don't have fraud against you on eBay, you are all right as a fraudster--you can get on and sell anything you like," Bray said, according to reports Tuesday.

"It seems to be extremely easy to commit fraud on the Internet," he added.

The judge was residing over the trial of a woman convicted of taking 3,000 pounds ($5,834) from five separate eBay customers for nonexistent tickets to the Glastonbury music festival.

eBay insists that its systems are safe and secure. "Fewer than 0.01 percent of all listings on eBay result in a confirmed case of fraud, and when used properly, the site is a safe and secure place to buy and sell," an eBay representative said.

"eBay employs approximately 1,000 people at eBay and (subsidiary) PayPal with backgrounds in law enforcement, customer support, advanced computer engineering and analysis, who are dedicated to making eBay one of the safest places in the world to trade. We encourage all users to report any suspected fraudulent activity to customer services, who will investigate," the representative added.